Winter Storm in Wisconsin, January 29 to 30, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Wisconsin, January 29 to 30, 2001
Start: 2001-01-29T19:00
End: 2001-01-30T07:00
Location: Wisconsin

January 29 to 30, 2001 · NWS MPX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

A powerful storm system in western Missouri tracked north into Iowa by late in the evening on the 29th. It then headed east into central Illinois by late afternoon on the 30th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS MPX wrote it up.

A powerful storm system in western Missouri tracked north into Iowa by late in the evening on the 29th. It then headed east into central Illinois by late afternoon on the 30th. A widespread area of freezing rain, sleet and or snow fell across all of West central Wisconsin. Total ice accumulations ranged from approximately one quarter of an inch to almost three quarters of an inch (northeastern Pierce county). Numerous tree limbs, and power lines damaged or down due to ice accumulation across the region.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 29, 2:35 PM CST, 4 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 2:35 PM CST, 4 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
235 PM CST MON JAN 29 2001

NORTHWARD ADVANCE OF PCPN HAS BEEN SLOWER THAN EXPECTED WITH RIDGE
HOLDING BACK PCPN SMWT.  FRZG RAIN HAS NEARED A OWA TO MKT LN AND
SHUD REACH THE S PTNS OF TC METRO ARND 4PM. PCPN WILL CONT TO EXPAND
N ACRS CWA DRNG EVE.  WILL CONT WITH ICE STORM WORDING SE
AREAS...BUT WILL HIGHLITE WITH WINTER STORM WARNING RMDR CWA WITH
MORE OF A MIX OF PCPN TYPES.  MAIN PCPN EVENT FOR S AREAS WILL BE
DRNG NITE.  AS IS OFTEN THE CASE AS LOW BGNS TO FILL THE PCPN BAND
BCMS DISPLACED WELL N OF LOW.  MODELS ARE INDICATING THAT THIS WILL
OCCUR WITH THIS SYSTEM FOR TUES.   CALLS TO SVRL COUNTIES IN SC MN
INDICATE THAT SOME SLEET IS MIXED IN WITH THE FRZG RAIN...BUT WOULD
EXPECT THIS TO BCM MAINLY ALL FRZG RAIN SHORTLY.  STG LIFT AND APRCH
OF UPR LOW SHUD CHG MOST PCPN TO SNW ACRS W AND INTO N AREAS DRNG
NITE.  PERSISTENT WRAPARND SNW SHUD DUMP A 4 TO 8 INCH BAND OF SNW
MAINLY W OF ILL TO STC.  WILL PRBLY SEE ICE ACCUMS OF ARND .5 INCH S
MN INTO WC WI.  IF SYSTEM WAS ALL SNOW...TOTALS WOULD BE QUITE
IMPRESSIVE WITH BJ COOKE SHOWING ARND 16 DEGREES WAA AND PWATS UP TO
.75 INCH.  PRDS LGT SNW SHUD CONT ON BACKSIDE OF DEPARTING LOW THRU
TUES NITE...ESPECIALLY E AREAS.

.MSP...ICE STORM WARNINGS TNGT SE AREA...S OF MKT TO RGK TO NEAR EAU

       WS WARNING TNGHT AND TUES MRNG N OF ICE STORM W@ARNING AS FAR
       N AS RCE THRU TC METRO TO ILL

       WS WARNING RMDR CWA TNGHT AND ALL DAY TUES.
PAULSON

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Barron

When: January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Barron forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.424, -91.848 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Chippewa

When: January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Chippewa forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.069, -91.280 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dunn

When: January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Dunn forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.947, -91.896 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Eau Claire

When: January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Eau Claire forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.727, -91.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pepin

When: January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Pepin forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.483, -92.150 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pierce

When: January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Pierce forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.720, -92.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Polk

When: January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Polk forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.461, -92.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rusk

When: January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Rusk forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.475, -91.133 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, St. Croix

When: January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 7:00 AM CST
Where: St. Croix forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.034, -92.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, January 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5227646, 5227647, 5227648, 5227649, 5227650, 5227651, 5227652, 5227653, 5227654.